ACTIVITY: Wading
CASE: GSAF 2002.11.00
DATE: November 2002
LOCATION: The incident took place in the
Pacific Ocean on Tetiaroa, a coral atoll
owned by film star Marlon Brando. Tetiaroa
is in the Society Islands of French Polynesia.
NAME: Scott Heywood
DESCRIPTION: He is a member of the
Explorers Club.
BACKGROUND
ENVIRONMENT On his website, Heywood
describes Tetiaroa atoll, "This paradise of
swaying palms, healthy coral reefs, azure
cuts and turquoise lagoons is bordered with
hard bottomed, excellent white sand flats
that hold BIG bonefish...very big bonefish.
On Tetiaroa, bonefish are not seen in the
numbers of the Bahamas or Caribbean, but
the average size of the bonefish on
Teitiaroa is simply awesome."
DEPTH OF WATER: Two feet
TIME:
NARRATIVE: Scott was fishing for bonefish and wading along the edge of the atoll 20 feet from the edge of a deep channel. Suddenly, a shark swam up from the bottom of the channel, cleared the edge of the atoll, and accelerated toward Scott. He waited for it to veer off but the shark didn’t swerve and hit
him swimming at full throttle, and then swam away. "The only things I can think of that might
have triggered the attack was that the shark hadn't seen many people in that remote area
and the sharks in that area seemed to be more aggressive than normal."
INJURY: The shark slammed into Scott’s shin. The force of the collision knocked him down.
He apprehensively touch his lower leg where the shark had hit him, worried the shark might
have severed an artery and concerned that there would be blood in the water. He was
amazed to discover the shark had not bitten him but "I had an awful bone bruise that
bothered me for three weeks," Scott said.
EQUIPMENT DAMAGE: The shark ripped his wading pants to shreds.
SPECIES INVOLVED: Blacktip shark
SOURCE: Scott Heywood, Angling Destinations,
http://www.anglingdestinations.com/Recent.php?action=adv&RECADV_ID=16